Vibration at take off

[HarryD]

I have not felt the vibration at takeoff, but on a smooth road I have definitely felt the driveshaft vibration.
As has been suggested by our Australian member, 4Wheeler, this vibration seems to be related to the relative lift and resulting driveshaft angle. I noticed that Ford has placed 8mm (5/16") shims under the leaf spring, one on the right and two on the left to adjust the frame tilt (I am assuming). This essentially results in a very minor lift.
For my initial attempt to shim the Center Bearing, I bought some 4mm X 40mm stainless steel stock to cut shims. I adjusted the bolt hole location to match my particular application (your position may well vary). I only added one shim because to add more I would need longer bolts. I am looking for 10mm - 1.5 X 50mm bolts with a 15mm hex and a quite large flange head. The OEM ones include an integral washer with a 27mm O.D.
Well, with the single shims installed, I drove to the smooth stretch of highway that initially brought the vibration to my attention, and to my somewhat surprise, I did not feel the vibration anymore, just the minor road undulations that are present here in the best of roads.
I would still like to try two shims if I can locate the bolts needed just to see what, if any, difference can be felt.

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[Porpoise Hork]

I have not felt the vibration at takeoff, but on a smooth road I have definitely felt the driveshaft vibration.
As has been suggested by our Australian member, 4Wheeler, this vibration seems to be related to the relative lift and resulting driveshaft angle. I noticed that Ford has placed 8mm (5/16") shims under the leaf spring, one on the right and two on the left to adjust the frame tilt (I am assuming). This essentially results in a very minor lift.
For my initial attempt to shim the Center Bearing, I bought some 4mm X 40mm stainless steel stock to cut shims. I adjusted the bolt hole location to match my particular application (your position may well vary). I only added one shim because to add more I would need longer bolts. I am looking for 10mm - 1.5 X 50mm bolts with a 15mm hex and a quite large flange head. The OEM ones include an integral washer with a 27mm O.D.
Well, with the single shims installed, I drove to the smooth stretch of highway that initially brought the vibration to my attention, and to my somewhat surprise, I did not feel the vibration anymore, just the minor road undulations that are present here in the best of roads.
I would still like to try two shims if I can locate the bolts needed just to see what, if any, difference can be felt.

Just pull one of the center bearing bolts out and take it to your local hardware store. They should have grade 5 or 8 bolts that are longer than the stock one as well as a washer to go with it. You can look for stainless or coated to prevent future corrosion issues.

When I inspected mine the center bearing appeared to be lined up. Why Ford changed all this up and used a sliding bearing mount instead of the same one as the AU/EU market is beyond me. The only possible thing I can come up with is the bearing assembly they decided on was either easier to get in the NA market, or has a taller base to make a minor adjustment to the drive-shaft angle that was altered as a result of this lift they put on the NA trucks.

 

[HarryD]

I actually bought some 10mm grade 10.9 bolts, but the flange and washer diameters were too small.
Edit: I found the bolts and 2.5mm thick x 30mm O.D. washers at Fastenal.

 

[Fin]

? Have felt mine at the 30-40 mph range.
No all the time, usually at slight turns.
makes me think a tire issue....

Oddly enough when I bought mine he had that 45 psi from the dealer...WTF.
Does no one check these out before hand?
I do get the storage high PSI..but damn..not out the door.

Anywho..totally annoying as I have never owned any car/truck with this issue.
And to have this new off the lot.. wtf. ?

 

[P. A. Schilke]

? Have felt mine at the 30-40 mph range.
No all the time, usually at slight turns.
makes me think a tire issue....

Oddly enough when I bought mine he had that 45 psi from the dealer...WTF.
Does no one check these out before hand?
I do get the storage high PSI..but damn..not out the door.

Anywho..totally annoying as I have never owned any car/truck with this issue.
And to have this new off the lot.. wtf. ?

Hi Fin,

It is part of the dealer predelivery to set tire pressure to the door label. Dealer missed the boat and unfortunately this is a common occurrence.

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[Fin]

Hi Fin,

It is part of the dealer predelivery to set tire pressure to the door label. Dealer missed the boat and unfortunately this is a common occurrence.

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

HI Phil,

I kinda figured that as I have a car I store for the winter and fill the tires to 40 psi to avoid the "flat spots".
And I hope I didn't open a can of worms with that as I have seen that debated before....

 

[T Bone]

? Have felt mine at the 30-40 mph range.
No all the time, usually at slight turns.
makes me think a tire issue....

Oddly enough when I bought mine he had that 45 psi from the dealer...WTF.
Does no one check these out before hand?
I do get the storage high PSI..but damn..not out the door.

Anywho..totally annoying as I have never owned any car/truck with this issue.
And to have this new off the lot.. wtf. ?

no they dont check, my tires were all at 45 pounds when i picked it up, asked the sales manager about why did i wait for a whole day for prep and this? got a blank stare and a "I dunno"

 

[Ranger_Rocks]

no they dont check, my tires were all at 45 pounds when i picked it up, asked the sales manager about why did i wait for a whole day for prep and this? got a blank stare and a "I dunno"

Not easy to evaluate test driving when tires are overinflated. I asked more than one salesman about this during bone-jarring Ranger drives. Nothing but deer-in-the-headlights glares.

 

[Fin]

no they dont check, my tires were all at 45 pounds when i picked it up, asked the sales manager about why did i wait for a whole day for prep and this? got a blank stare and a "I dunno"

How scary is that..... Techs checking outgoing vehicles let the most common things elude them.
My lord... that should be #1 on their check list...

 

[P. A. Schilke]

How scary is that..... Techs checking outgoing vehicles let the most common things elude them.
My lord... that should be #1 on their check list...

HI Fin,

You are spot on, I have tried and tried to get the dealers to do the proper PDI...I sadly report that my last 5 vehicles in the last 10 years, not one was adjusted to proper inflation until I purchased my new 2020 Nautilus. This vehicle came from Las Vegas on a dealer trade and it had Nitrogen in the tires and properly inflated. The LV dealer...Team Ford, owned by a friend of mine and an Off Road Racer that raced for me at Ford, Steve Olliges, the tires were spot on. I would expect nothing less and Steve runs a first class business... My local dealer.... Poor, Poor, Poor. Wish we could have figured out how to adjust tire pressures automatically for the customer but way to expensive. So we depend on the Dealer to do their PDI and the fail in most cases. Sigh!

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[Ranger Roger]

HI Fin,

You are spot on, I have tried and tried to get the dealers to do the proper PDI...I sadly report that my last 5 vehicles in the last 10 years, not one was adjusted to proper inflation until I purchased my new 2020 Nautilus. This vehicle came from Las Vegas on a dealer trade and it had Nitrogen in the tires and properly inflated. The LV dealer...Team Ford, owned by a friend of mine and an Off Road Racer that raced for me at Ford, Steve Olliges, the tires were spot on. I would expect nothing less and Steve runs a first class business... My local dealer.... Poor, Poor, Poor. Wish we could have figured out how to adjust tire pressures automatically for the customer but way to expensive. So we depend on the Dealer to do their PDI and the fail in most cases. Sigh!

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

Picked mine up yesterday and the first thing I checked at the dealer. All were about 36-38 so they did their job.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Picked mine up yesterday and the first thing I checked at the dealer. All were about 36-38 so they did their job.

Hi Roger,

Keep this Dealer....the good ones are few and far between!!!! Kudos on checking your tire pressures!!!

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[Jfleming]

Ford now has a TSB for the "vibration at take off"


Aug 20 2020 0726 - 2019-2020 Ranger - Shudder/Vibration When Accelerating From A Stop

See TSB: 20-2277 for details.

 

[kcb94]

I recently took my 2019 Lariat FX4 to my local dealer and went in armed with the info from this board and detailed the vibration and speeds and shimmy i was getting. I also I requested TSB 20-2277 and, knowing i was a “saavy”customer, the tech was really supportive of my claim. Well after a. Few days they came back and said they performed the TSB and installed shims and corrected piñon angle...but the shaking was still there!!! However, they diagnosed it and I’ll be getting a new driveshaft assembly! The code listed was this:

Unrealized KB3Z 4R602 A: SHAFT ASY - DRIVE

So even though I’m goign to have to wait until mid October because the shafts are on backorder, the fact the dealer recognized and is working to fix the problem makes me feel 1000X better. Thanks to all on this board who have endured the problem and posted their fixes!

 

[kcb94]

Hello All! an update to the saga...its been 4 weeks and the shop has had the truck several times (thank god its walking distance). The 20-2277 TSB did not fix the vibration issue (the replacement driveshaft is in and the modified carrier bearing too). The shims didnt work, and the tech even says the rear feels like riding on a washboard.

The good news is thanks to this site the write up i did for the issue has led to a Ford case being opened on it and an engineer is being sent in. The service manager even drove another ranger on the lot and noticed the same problem. So, looking for the inputs from anyone who has found a good fix to suggest but here’s some things I’ve gathered that may be the root problem :

1. The incorrect pinion angle damages the gears through excess backlash...over time this requires repair fo the tranny

2. The transmission PCM needs to be reprogrammed because of the issue similar to the F-150 temperature sensor causing jerky shifting to compensate (tech said Ford wouldnt allow PCM reflash for the 2019 10 sped transmission similar to 2020)

3. Truck has 5000 miles, the transmission itself may be bad ?

4. Rear geometry is fundamentally flawed and out of balance?

Anyone else have ideas or experience that will work. Big kudos to my tech who is in fact taking this all the way up the line to get Ford to own up to this And maybe finally figure out the intrinsic defect.

KC

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